Russian Prosphora Recipe

Note: the text below was copied from the Indiana List
Archives (http://listserv.idiana.edu/archives/orthodox.html). It
looks like a reliable recipe, which is why I've copied and posted
it here. It has not been edited or tested.

Peter Hrycak wrote on 9 May inquiring about recipes for
prosphora ....

I've been baking prosphora for thirty years or so, and (as
Nina Seco pointed out), even the experienced bakers have trouble
with temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and uncooperative
ovens. Only experiemce will give you some sort of `feel' for
that.

The basic recipe I follow is Russian in origin, but I think it
will work for anybody. It was called _tri po tri_ (`three by
three' how Orthodox!) since the principle ingredients are
measured in threes, which is also an aid to memory. I've used
this recipe in the monastery and in several parishes of various
ethnic backgrounds, without complaints.

EQUIPMENT: large bowl for sifting flour large bread-mixing
bowl (preferably not metal) sturdy large mixing spoon two large
cookie sheets (I use `pizza' stones) large pastry board or
*immaculately* clean work surface rolling pin pastry scraper or
metal spatula flour sifter measuring cup small metal skewer or
turkey pin carved seals of the size/shape appropriate for the
kind of prosphora you're baking clean apron two clean pastry
cloths about 30" square one large or two small pastry
cooling racks large plastic bag (a new trash bag will do)
`Ziploc'-style bags for transporting/freezing -- the jumbo or
2-gallon sixe is best for large prosphora

INGREDIENTS: 9 cups unbleached flour (Pillsbury's `Bread
Flour' is good; `natural' flour, maybe from a health food store,
is best; it's desirable to use flour which has not been
artficially enhanced by adding anything (protein) or subtracting
anything (by bleaching).

DIRECTIONS: MAKE SURE THAT ALL UTENSILS, WORK SURFACES AND
YOUR HANDS (SCRUB UNDER YOUR NAILS! WASH WITH UNSCENTED SOAP!)
ARE SCRUPULOUSLY CLEAN; THAT YOUR HAIR/BEARD WILL NOT CONTAMINATE
THE DOUGH; THAT NO HOUSEHOLD PETS ARE IN THE KITCHEN; THAT THE
WINDOWS AND DOORS ARE CLOSED AGAINST DRAFTS AND DUST. If your
hands begin to feel dry while working with the dough, resist the
urge to apply lotion -- it will contaminate the dough with
undesirable oils and odors.

Cross yourself and make the Sign of the Cross over your
ingredients, remembering that we will offer this bread and ask
that God's Holy Spirit change it and us, and make this bread the
`precious Body of (His) Christ'.

1. Boil the water (preferably pure spring water from a bottle)
in a clean pot or kettle. Turn off the heat and let the water
stand while you quickly do steps 2 - 4. Don't measure the water
before boiling, just boil more than three cups to allow for
evaporation.

2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. If the label says
`pre-sifted', sift it anyway.

3. Measure nine cups (3x3) sifted flour into the bread bowl
(`cup' means the whole vessel; you don't have to make it exactly
even with the line.)

4. Add the yeast and salt, and stir to distribute them evenly
throughout the dry flour. Pile the dry mixture in the center of
the bread bowl.

5. Measure three cups of the boiled water into the dry
mixture, adding it around the flour -- don't pour it directly on
top of it.

6. Stir the mixture until it begins to hold together; sprinkle
some of the reserved flour on the work surface and scrape all the
dough out of the bowl onto it.

7. Knead the dough thoroughly for as long as it takes to get
it to be of even texture, elastic but fairly dry. Sprinkly some
flour into the bread bowl, place the dough ito it, and cover with
a cloth. Set the bowl in a warm spot to rise for an hour or so.
Someplace near, but not on, the stove is best.

8. Light the oven and set it for 325.

9. WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN; knead the dough again until it is
about the same size as it was before you let it rise.

10. Sprinkle the baking sheets with a generous coating of
flour or white cornmeal. DO NOT USE OIL OF ANY KIND TO GREASE THE
BAKING SHEETS.

11a. BYZANTINE (large) prosphora: 1. Divide the dough into two
equal parts. 2. Cut off 1/4 of each part, and reserve. 3. Shape
each of the two large pieces into a ball; roll them out until
they are round and flat, about 1 1/2 inches thick. 4. Place the
loaves on the baking sheets. 5. Roll out the two small pieces
into circles a couple of inches smaller in diameter than the
loaves, but larger than the seal. 6. Flour the circles on both
sides. Impress the seal firmly and remove it at once. 7. Moisten
the tops of the loaves thoroughly with water left over from what
was boiled earlier, rubbing in with your fingertips. 8. Place the
sealed circles on each loaf. Pat them firmly in place with your
fingertips, but not so hard as to obliterate the seal. Cover the
prosphora with a cloth and set them aside to rise for another 30
minutes. 9. Using the skewer, pierce each prosphoron in the
center and at the corners of each of its five square sections, as
well as around the edge of the circle. 10. Place one prosphoron
on the oven's upper rack, and the other on the lower. 11. Reduce
the temperature to 300. Bake for 30 minutes. 12. Remove the
prosphora and rotate them: back to front, top to bottom; bake for
another 45 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on top and
sound hollow when you tap them. If there's any doubt in your mind
that they're done, leave them in for another ten minutes or so.
It's better to have them slightly overbaked than raw inside. 13.
Brush off as much flour/white corn meal as you can from the
bottom of each prosphoron. Place them on cooling racks. 14. Cover
the prosphora with a dry cloth, and a damp cloth over the dry
cloth. Place the cloth-covered prosphora on their racks into the
large plastic bag. (This allows the prosphora to cool as they
absorb mosture from the damp cloth, making them less crumbly.)
15. When the prosphora are completely cooled, brush them again to
remove any remaining flour/white corn meal from their bottoms,
and put them in sealed bags. Ideally, the prosphora should be
baked on the morning of the day before the Liturgy. If necessary,
they can be baked in advance and frozen in airtight bags until
needed; even then, they should be taken out to thaw at least 24
hours in advance of the Liturgy: microwave thawing does
undesirable things to bread.

11b. RUSSIAN (small) prosphora (also used for commemorations):
1. Divide the dough into two equal parts. 2. Roll out each part
until it is about 1" thick. 3. With a 3" cookie cutter,
cut twelve circles from each part and place them on the baking
sheets, leaving as much space as possible between them. 4. Roll
out the dough remaining from the cutting of the 24 circles until
it's 1" thick. 5. With a 2" cookie cutter, cut 24
circles; flour them on both sides and seal them with the small
seal. 7. Follow steps 7 -15 as in 11a; baking time will be
shorter, since the loaves are smaller. Pack these up in groups of
five, making sure that there is at least one of good size and
shape with a clear seal in each bag.

This same recipe may be used for artoklasia; some people add a
little rose water or citrus, or even dried fruit to it in that
case.

There are as many recipes for prosphora as there are _yayas_
and _babas_ and _siddis_, and other grannies too numerous to
mention; this is just the one that's always worked for me.